Green Leadership on Pool and Library

Delivering the new Marrickville Library is shaping up like a re-run of the campaign to get Enmore Pool built. Four years ago The Greens strongly supported of the campaign for the new pool. Back then we were bitterly opposed by Independent councillors, Morris Hanna and Victor Macri.

Now these same councillors oppose our vision for a new Library, Community Hub and forecourt park on the Marrickville Hospital site. Again they are being supported by the Labor Party Councillors.

The success of the Enmore Pool provides council with a great model for its other Major Projects, such as the Library. After a year of operation Enmore Pool has proven a huge success, with crowds enjoying the centre’s 3 pools, gym, and café. Its popularity has been reflected in the bottom line and the previously heavily subsidised pool now runs at a small profit.

The Greens vision for the new Library is to provide a sustainable civic hub that adaptively reuses and extends the heritage Marrickville Hospital building and integrates a park/ forecourt with the internal areas of the Library. We want to develop the hospital site not overdevelop it.

Clr Hanna, now the Mayor of Marrickville, and his colleague, Clr Macri, want to build a 9 storey building on the corner of Marrickville and Livingstone Roads. This would rule out the idea of providing a park for Library users and the local community.

Morris Hanna’s track record of never once voting in support of Enmore Pool can hardly give the community confidence in his plans for the Library. The Greens think he just wants to overdevelop the site rather than deliver the best Library for Marrickville.

The Greens supported a vision of Enmore Pool that involved the community. Council has developed some great designs for the new Library and the Greens support progressing the design competition winner. Our track record of getting it right with Enmore Pool should give the community confidence in our ability to deliver a great library for Marrickville.

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The Marrickville and Petersham-Newtown Greens are the local groups for members of The Greens political party living in the Sydney suburbs of Dulwich Hill, Enmore, Lewisham, Marrickville, Newtown, Petersham, St Peters, Stanmore, Sydenham and Tempe.

All electoral comment on this site authorised by Richard Morrell 19 Eve Street Erskinville NSW